Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia were scheduled to throw first pitches on Tuesday at Citi Field, ahead of a game where the New York Mets would host the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Chris Mannix reported that Mets officials had concerns after the Empire State Building scuffle earlier in the day, when the two did a photo opp for a small amount of press and two giant entourages. In the end, Haney and Garcia were denied the first pitch duty.
In all reality, this is a reasonable decision. The Mets aren’t actually involved with promoting Saturday’s Haney vs Garcia fight, and stand to gain nothing and wind up looking bad and/or embarrassed if you get the typical shoving session, not to mention the level of language being used every time these two are in the same place. In short, the Mets are not in the business of selling sanctioned violence to the public.
Garcia and promoter Oscar De La Hoya shared a video with their reaction. It’s about what you’d imagine the reaction being from people who aren’t used to their presence being unwanted by people who don’t care who they are and have better things to do than help them with their “brand.”
Haney will defend his WBC super lightweight title against Garcia Saturday at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.
The Mets won the game, 3-1.